Overview

• On Sept. 2, Haley Stevens thanked Berrien County Commissioner Chokwe Pitchford on X for endorsing her, and he publicly replied that he never endorsed her or spoke with her team.
• The post was subsequently deleted after Pitchford’s denial, which he told e DeDetroit News was “the most strange thing” he has experienced in politics.
• Campaign spokesperson Reeves Oyster told MLive there was a miscommunication and declined to explain what led to the error.
• The campaign highlighted other support, naming former Speaker Joe Tate, Rep. Hillary Scholten, former Gov. Jim Blanchard, UNITE HERE Local 24, 40 Detroit clergy, the mayors of Lansing and Grand Rapids, and 11 Metro Detroit mayors.
• The episode unfolds in a competitive Democratic primary for the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters, with an NRSC-cited July poll showing Stevens at 24% and many voters undecided against Mallory McMorrow, Abdul El-Sayed, and Rachel Howard.